Daily Archives

IDEAbuilder: Robotic Fabrication of Homes and Building Components – buildaroo.com4.5

IDEAbuilder is a company focused on robotic fabrication of homes and building components. According to Greg from IDEAbuilder, the majority of wood homes in Europe are manufactured using robotic fabrication. IDEAbuilder is focused on bringing this technology, already popular in Europe, to the United States. The concept is still relatively new to most architects and builders, and IDEAbuilder is working to educate them about this process.

So why use robotic fabrication in building? It’s a more energy efficient and organized way to build, and it therefore makes homes more affordable and raises their quality level.

So from an architect’s perspective how is this different from standard construction? In robotic fabrication, a 3D digital model of the home is built and then sent to the robotic fabrication lines. In standard construction, the architect only needs to design the house in a CAD program, and it does not need to be 3D.

The robotic fabrication machines can produce any kind of home or building component, and the elements they produce for any given project are based on that particular project’s design and location. The goal is to have as much of the building process diverted from the building site as possible. Some examples of things a builder may expect to receive on site are: pre-cut bundles of timber, pre-assembled wall panels and stackable prefabricated modules. The builders then serve as assemblers who put these components together.

Some examples of projects that utilized robotic fabrication include the cathedral at the North End of Lake Merit in the Bay Area, and the new Academy of Science.